Obama photo a social-media sensation

This tweet by @BarackObama quickly became the most retweeted message ever on Twitter.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Photo of president embracing first lady has been retweeted more than 675,000 times

President Obama's campaign posted the image late Tuesday after he won re-election

The image also has received more than 3.3 million likes on Facebook

(CNN) -- It may already be social media's most-shared image ever.

President Barack Obama's campaign posted a photograph of him embracing his wife, first lady Michelle Obama, to Facebook and Twitter late Tuesday, moments after CNN and other news outlets projected he had won re-election over GOP challenger Mitt Romney. The accompanying message read simply, "Four more years."

The president had tweeted a thank-you message to supporters from the same account moments earlier. But it was the image that captured the world's imagination.

The image shows the president and first lady locked in a heartfelt embrace, framed against a cloudy sky. She's wearing a sleeveless summer dress; he's got his shirt sleeves rolled up and his eyes closed, a smile on his face. It was taken August 15 at an Obama rally in Dubuque, Iowa, during a three-day campaign bus tour across the state.

More than 190,000 commenters weighed in about Obama's post on Facebook. Amid the congratulations and the angry posts from Romney supporters were some praising the photo.

"They are an absolutely gorgeous couple!!! So in love!" said one comment.

The posts reaffirmed the pre-eminence of social media as a crucial communications platform in the 2012 presidential race. Obama's campaign acknowledged his victory on Twitter and Facebook before he e-mailed supporters or addressed a victory rally early Wednesday in Chicago.

The messages also rode a massive wave of Twitter chatter about the election returns. Twitter saw 31 million tweets on Election Day, and hit a peak of 327,452 tweets per minute as Obama was declared the winner.